


Childhood Friends

by youwishpreppy



Series: Joavin OTP Prompts Short Stories [11]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 23:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16294382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youwishpreppy/pseuds/youwishpreppy





	Childhood Friends

Kevin Keller was five years old, and he was very proud that his dad would take him on a camping trip. Just the men of the Keller family, he had announced, and Kevin had grinned and felt very cool. And maybe it wasn’t much, they just wanted to go to Crystal Lake over the weekend, but Kevin had been looking forward to it the whole week.  
  
He had packed a backpack with his favorite stuffed animals, several comic books, and board games and was super excited when the day for their little trip finally rolled around. He and his dad loaded their tent and their equipment into the truck and then drove to the lake. Kevin helped his dad build the tent and getting all their blankets and pillows inside. Once they were finished, his dad had some more work for Kevin: “Let’s built a fire. You can collect some wood, Kevin.”  
  
Kevin nodded enthusiastically and went on his way towards the forest. The campsite at Crystal Lake was pretty crowded. The summer holidays had just started, and it was a popular place for family trips. So Kevin wasn’t alone when he went on his search for wood. There were two other kids, picking up different branches, inspecting them and throwing some of them away again. Kevin approached them because surely he could find some wood there too and he liked to make new friends.  
  
“Hello, are you looking for firewood too?”  
  
A tiny girl with long wavy hair turned around and nodded. “Yes, but we haven’t got much until now. I am Toni. Who are you?”  
  
“Kevin. Why don’t you have much? There are so many branches lying around here.”  
  
Toni nodded, “Yes, but you can’t use all of them. Joaquin knows how to make a fire, he tells me which sticks are good.” she pointed to a dark-haired boy a few feet away. “Joaquin! I have some more branches!”  
  
The boy turned around and quickly came over to them. His gaze met Kevin’s, and he looked at him questioningly. Kevin smiled at him and quickly introduced himself. “Hi, I am Kevin. I am looking for firewood too.”  
  
Joaquin smiled at him too and took the sticks Toni had collected and looked at them. “These three are good, the rest is too moist.”  
  
Kevin watched and listened interestedly. He caught Joaquin’s gaze when the other boy looked up and asked: “Can you show me how to pick the right sticks?”  
  
“Sure. They just have to be dry, because if they are not there will be too much smoke. I can help you pick some good ones.”  
  
“Thank you!”  
  
Kevin was pretty impressed when he went on his search with Joaquin because the other boy seemed to be an expert. And he was really nice, Kevin thought, and he had the most beautiful eyes Kevin had ever seen. They were so blue, and blue was Kevin’s favorite color.  
  
“What?” Joaquin asked softly, “Why are you staring at me like that?”  
  
“Oh sorry. I was looking into your eyes. They are so blue, I have never seen that before.”  
  
Joaquin smiled. “Yes, I know. My mom has the same eyes.” His smile faded a bit as he said that and Kevin wondered what was wrong, but didn’t ask.  
  
They had finally collected enough wood, and Joaquin helped Kevin carry it back to his tent, where Kevin’s dad was already waiting. He grinned as he saw the two boys approaching. “Oh have you already made a new friend, Kevin? That’s nice.”  
  
“Yes, this is Joaquin. He knows everything about building a fire!”  
  
“That’s great! You can help us with the fire, If you want, Joaquin.”  
  
Joaquin nodded and went over to Kevin’s dad, helping him. Kevin watched in awe. He thought Joaquin was super cool. After they had made the fire, Kevin showed Joaquin his tent. The other boy looked around at all the playthings and pointed at the comics.  
  
“What do you have there?”  
  
“My comic books. I love looking at all the pictures. My dad reads them to me. I can’t read yet, you know.”  
  
“I can read. I can read them to you if you want.”  
  
Kevin smiled and nodded, making room for Joaquin to lie down next to him. And Joaquin read the whole comic to Kevin. They both were really enthralled with the story, and Kevin was impressed that Joaquin could already read so well.  
  
“Are you here with your parents too?”  
  
“Um, no… I am here with Toni and her Grandpa.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“My mom couldn’t come… she is sick. And I don’t have a dad.”  
  
“Oh, that sounds sad.”  
  
Joaquin nodded and asked Kevin whether they should maybe go in search for Toni, and Kevin agreed. They spent the rest of the evening playing hide and seek and roasting marshmallows over the fire.

Sunday was lots of fun too. Kevin went swimming in the lake with his dad and afterward met with Joaquin to look at the comics again. They were in Joaquin’s tent this time, and Kevin snuggled into Joaquin’s blanket and grabbed a little stuffed dog he found really cute and cradled him in his arms. Kevin wondered why Joaquin didn’t have as many playthings with him as Kevin did, but maybe it was because Joaquin was two years older. 

In the afternoon Kevin went fishing with his dad, and after having one last BBQ at the campfire, they started to pack their camping utensils into their car again, getting ready to head home. Kevin was about to tell his dad that he needed to say goodbye to Joaquin when he saw the other boy walking towards them.  
  
“Are you leaving?”  
  
“Yes. Bye bye, Joaquin.” Kevin smiled at his friend, and Joaquin smiled back at him and gave him a little wave. “Bye Kevin. I will go home too. Toni and her Grandpa are already packing up. But I am happy because I can look after my mom again.”  
  
And suddenly Kevin remembered again, how sad Joaquin had looked when he had told Kevin that his mom was sick. He felt sorry and did the first thing that came to his mind and picked up the comic Joaquin had enjoyed so much and handed it to Joaquin. “Here you can have this. Maybe you can read it to your mom.”  
  
Joaquin looked surprised, and then he broke out into a huge grin “Thank you! Yes, I will read it to her, she will probably like it too.”  
  
They smiled at each other and hugged quickly before Joaquin turned around and went back to Toni and her Grandpa. But he came back after only two minutes, holding something in his hands. It was the little stuffed dog Kevin had liked so much. “This is for you, Kevin.”  
  
Kevin smiled and thanked Joaquin and they said goodbye once again before Kevin got into their truck. He was a bit sad on the drive home because he already missed Joaquin. But maybe they would meet again one day…  
  
 **11 years later:**  
  
“Joaquin, can you please box the things from the upper drawer?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
Joaquin was at Kevin’s house, helping his boyfriend packing all of his things up. Kevin and his dad were about to move in with the McCoy family. Joaquin opened the drawer and loaded everything into a box. He smiled at the various items, a strange collection of things Kevin had accumulated over the years. Souvenirs he had brought home from vacation spots, old childhood memories, old drawings, and toys. He stopped suddenly when he spotted a little stuffed dog…it conjured up memories. Joaquin stared at the plushy, and he was still staring at it when Kevin came back into the room.  
  
“What are you looking at, babe?”  
  
“Kevin, where did you get that little dog?”  
  
“I don’t know… probably something my parents bought me sometime…why?”  
  
“I don’t think your parents bought it…were you camping at Crystal Lake, when you were little?”  
  
“Yes, with my dad.”  
  
And then Kevin seemed to remember because he looked at Joaquin with wide eyes. “Oh my god!”  
  
Joaquin smirked and nodded. “Yeah, I just remembered too, when I found that dog.” He looked a the battered little plushy. “Why did you keep it? It doesn’t look in very good shape.”  
  
“It was one of my faves actually, that’s why it looks like that. Oh god, Joaquin…I guess I had a crush on you back when. I can’t believe this…how could I forget?”  
  
“You were still so little, of course, you can’t remember everything! I also didn’t remember until now.”  
  
“That’s fate!”  
  
“I don’t believe in that.”  
  
“But I do! It makes sense. We were meant to meet each other…and even though the world tried so hard to keep us apart, we managed to always find a way back to each other again.” He looked at Joaquin, and Joaquin could see tears shining in Kevin’s eyes. “That’s fate, you and I.”  
  
And suddenly it didn’t sound so stupid anymore but made perfect sense. Joaquin got up and quickly pulled Kevin into a hug. But he still felt the need to add:  
  
“Maybe you are right about this fate stuff, but I also believe in choices. And I made the choice to see you again even after I learned that you were the sheriff’s son. And I made the choice to come back and try to win you back. I chose you, and I would always do it again. That’s what I believe in.”  
  
Joaquin was a bit shocked at what he had just said, and he was beginning to feel a bit embarrassed, but then Kevin pressed his lips to his with a happy little sound, and Joaquin thought that maybe he had said just the right thing.


End file.
